Demographic Effects Research Articles

Menstrual irregularities associated with COVID-19 vaccines among women in Saudi Arabia: A survey during 2022.

Some changes appeared in women's menstrual cycle after receiving the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, but the information about the pattern and characteristics of these symptoms was unclear. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of menstruation change and evaluate the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the occurrence of such disturbance. An online web-based survey was conducted during March-April 2022 that targeted 729 COVID-19 vaccinated women aged between 18 and 45 years in the Jazan region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The tool collected demographic information, psychological data, and COVID-19 post-vaccination side effects. The overall prevalence of menstrual change among the women was 60.9% (95% CI 57.3-64.4). 66.3% and 64.1% of women, respectively, in the age group of 25-34 and 35-45 years were more affected. Most of the detected abnormalities were related to delayed menstruation and changes in pain intensity. Menstrual disturbances that occur after immunization are transient and have no long-term implications. Menstrual disorders are prevalent before vaccination, but there is a considerable increase following vaccination. Because there is no apparent cause for these post-vaccine disturbances, and their effects are difficult to anticipate, it is preferable to warn those concerned and encourage them to learn more about the biological changes causing these problems.

Demographic, experience, and organisational factors effect on local enforcement officers’ ethical integrity

Purpose This study departed from the aim to progress Malaysia as a high-income nation in 2025 via decent work and economic growth (Sustainable Development Goal 8). Thus, this study aims to examine the effects of demographic, experience and organisational factors on the ethical integrity of local enforcement officers from self-proclaim and colleague perception perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The data of this study was collected from Pusat Latihan Penguatkuasa Selangor (PULAPES), a training centre for local enforcement officers in Selangor. Based on a survey in 2019, this study used primary data based on a scenario-based questionnaire survey with a total sample of 535 respondents. Findings From a self-proclaim perspective, the results show that secondment and training factors have a positive relationship with the ethical integrity of local enforcement officers. From a colleague perception perspective, the results indicate that the secondment factor has a positive relationship with ethical integrity. In contrast, the officer rank factor has a negative relationship with the ethical integrity of local enforcement officers. Practical implications This research seeks to develop new theories or refine existing ones to explain how diverse circumstances affect law enforcement ethics. Learning people’s habits through observation and consequences like rewards or punishments impact behaviour recurrence are suggested. Law enforcement ethics can be examined by examining how peers, supervisors and organisational culture shape officers’ ethics. Social implications The finding of this study could serve to evaluate training programmes or rewards and punishments for ethical behaviour including how accountability and community involvement aid to promote law enforcement ethics. Originality/value The survey results of this study are based on local enforcement officers’ ethics that serve to aid in illuminating the elements which affect ethical behaviour among law enforcement personnel and identify the tactics for fostering ethical behaviour.

Komparativna analiza tranzicijskih demografskih procesa Ukrajine i Hrvatske i recentni izbjeglički valovi

The comparative analysis established the similarity of the demographic transition processes in Ukraine and Croatia as a consequence of the specific historical, social and economic conditions of development within the former state communities. Consideration of post-transition characteristics and demographic heritage confirmed the comparability of modern demographic characteristics and processes of these two countries. The recent geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe related to the Russian aggression on Ukraine has caused intensified forced relocations of the population in Ukraine and Europe in the context of exile and refugee movements. The main sources of migration waves, the directions and intensity of certain forms of forced (war) migration to and from the territory of Ukraine are defined. In addition to the increased spatial mobility of the population (both internal and external) and direct demographic losses, other demographic consequences will be visible with a delayed effect, and after the end of the war in Ukraine.

EP15.10: Effect of maternal demographics and clinical characteristics on fetal biometric measurements: a pilot study

EP15.10: Effect of maternal demographics and clinical characteristics on fetal biometric measurements: a pilot study

Alternative beliefs in psychedelic drug users

Previous research has suggested that classical psychedelics can foster significant and enduring changes in personality traits and subjective wellbeing. Despite the lack of evidence for adverse effects on mental health stemming from psychedelic use, concerns persist regarding the capacity of these substances to modulate information processing and attitudes towards factual data. The aim of the present study was to investigate the propensity for accepting alternative facts and the general treatment of knowledge within a sample of 392 participants, 233 of whom reported at least a single incidence of psychedelic use in their lifetime. To do this, we leveraged step-wise methods of linear modelling investigating effects of demographics, psychiatric conditions and concomitant drug use. Our findings revealed a moderate positive association between psychedelic use and beliefs in alternative facts, as well as the specific belief that facts are politically influenced. However, no links were found for favouring intuition over evidence when confirming facts. Among other investigated drugs, only alcohol was negatively associated with beliefs in alternative facts. Taken together, our results support the link between psychedelic use and non-conformist thinking styles, which can be attributed to the psychological effects of the drugs themselves, but may also mirror a common trait related to unconventional beliefs and illicit substance use.

Coupling Mountain Pine Beetle and Forest Population Dynamics Predicts Transient Outbreaks that are Likely to Increase in Number with Climate Change.

Mountain pine beetle (MPB) in Canada have spread well beyond their historical range. Accurate modelling of the long-term dynamics of MPB is critical for assessing the risk of further expansion and informing management strategies, particularly in the context of climate change and variable forest resilience. Most previous models have focused on capturing a single outbreak without tree replacement. While these models are useful for understanding MPB biology and outbreak dynamics, they cannot accurately model long-term forest dynamics. Past models that incorporate forest growth tend to simplify beetle dynamics. We present a new model that couples forest growth to MPB population dynamics and accurately captures key aspects of MPB biology, including a threshold for the number of beetles needed to overcome tree defenses and beetle aggregation that facilitates mass attacks. These mechanisms lead to a demographic Allee effect, which is known to be important in beetle population dynamics. We show that as forest resilience decreases, a fold bifurcation emerges and there is a stable fixed point with a non-zero MPB population. We derive conditions for the existence of this equilibrium. We then simulate biologically relevant scenarios and show that the beetle population approaches this equilibrium with transient boom and bust cycles with period related to the time of forest recovery. As forest resilience decreases, the Allee threshold also decreases. Thus, if host resilience decreases under climate change, for example under increased stress from drought, then the lower Allee threshold makes transient outbreaks more likely to occur in the future.

Move it or lose it: Predicted effects of culverts and population density on Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) connectivity.

Roadways and railways can reduce wildlife movements across landscapes, negatively impacting population connectivity. Connectivity may be improved by structures that allow safe passage across linear barriers, but connectivity could be adversely influenced by low population densities. The Mojave desert tortoise is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation, and population declines. The tortoise continues to decline as disturbance increases across the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States. While underground crossing structures, like hydrological culverts, have begun receiving attention, population density has not been considered in tortoise connectivity. Our work asks a novel question: How do culverts and population density affect connectivity and potentially drive genetic and demographic patterns? To explore the role of culverts and population density, we used agent-based spatially explicit forward-in-time simulations of gene flow. We constructed resistance surfaces with a range of barriers to movement and representative of tortoise habitat with anthropogenic disturbance. We predicted connectivity under variable population densities. Simulations were run for 200 non-overlapping generations (3400 years) with 30 replicates using 20 microsatellite loci. We evaluated population genetic structure and diversity and found that culverts would not entirely negate the effects of linear barriers, but gene flow improved. Our results also indicated that density is important for connectivity. Low densities resulted in declines regardless of the landscape barrier scenario (> 75% population census size, > 97% effective population size). Results from our simulation using current anthropogenic disturbance predicted decreased population connectivity over time. Genetic and demographic effects were detectable within five generations (85 years) following disturbance with estimated losses in effective population size of 69%. The pronounced declines in effective population size indicate this could be a useful monitoring metric. We suggest management strategies that improve connectivity, such as roadside fencing tied to culverts, conservation areas in a connected network, and development restricted to disturbed areas.

Should we use natural gas in our homes? Risk perceptions from the U.S

Multiple municipalities in the U.S. have banned natural gas hook-ups in new home construction. Several state governments have pre-empted those bans. Yet little is known about public perceptions of natural gas appliances in the home. We used survey data to evaluate risk perceptions associated with natural gas appliances and investigate potential demographic and ideological effects on risk perceptions. We find little political polarization or “white male” effects, but those who are dissatisfied with indoor air quality and concerned about climate change have heightened risk perceptions. Overall, natural gas risk perceptions are low. However, as of late 2022, the health implications of natural gas use in the home and potential mitigation policy have entered public discourse, implying that these risks may become more salient and politically charged. We conclude by discussing implications for indoor environments and policy.

The Behavioural Pattern of Investment in the Financial Market: A Study of the Individual Investors

Most financial theories are based on the assumption that everyone is logical and considers all available information before making decisions, which is not the case in reality. This study aims to analyse the behavioural determinants that drive the investment decision of individual investors in J&K. Non-probability convenience sampling was adopted; through which 392 responses from individual investors were gathered using a self-administered questionnaire. The t-test and ANOVA were used to determine the effect of demographics on investment behaviour (IB), whereas logistic regression was used to determine the impact of IB determinants on investment decision-making. The findings show that the investment decisions of investors in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) are significantly influenced by age and occupation. The results also indicate that cognitive bias, investment goals and saving orientation have a substantial influence on IB but overconfidence, risk perception and decision influencers do not have any significant impact on the investment decision of individual investors in J&K. By gaining awareness of these determinants, investors can make more rational investment decisions, leading to enhanced market efficiency and achieving better outcomes in the financial market.

Negative density-dependence buffers against mismatch-induced population decline in the Sinai baton blue butterfly.

Phenological mismatches caused by climate change pose a major threat to global biodiversity, yet relatively few studies have reported population declines resulting from mismatch. It has been hypothesised that density effects may underlie this lack of observed responses by buffering against mismatch-induced population decline. We developed an individual-based model of the critically endangered Sinai baton blue butterfly (Pseudophilotes sinaicus) and its hostplant Sinai thyme (Thymus decussatus), parameterised using real field data, to test this hypothesis. Our model showed that the baton blue experiences demographic consequences under only 5 days of phenological mismatch, but that this threshold was increased to 14days with the inclusion of density-dependent juvenile mortality. The inclusion of density effects also led to the replication of population cycles observed in nature, supporting the ability of our model to accurately represent the baton blue's ecology. These results add to a growing body of literature suggesting that density effects may underlie the observed lack of demographic responses to mismatch in wild populations. However, these buffers may be short-lived in extreme mismatch scenarios, providing a false sense of security against a looming threat of population collapse.

Preferred Nasolabial Angle in Rhinoplasty: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

The perception of an ideal nose is influenced by a variety of factors, with demographic characteristics playing a significant role in what is considered an ideal nose. The nasolabial angle (NLA) is considered one of the defining features shaping the nose. In this study we set out to capture the perception of the ideal nasolabial angle among Canadian, Saudi, Kuwaiti, and Lebanese populations. An online questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the ideal nasolabial angle among Canadian, Saudi, Kuwaiti, and Lebanese populations (n = 197). Participants were patients attending outpatient clinics, plastic surgery residents, and medical students. The questionnaire included demographics and the perception of respondents of the ideal NLA for each gender: male (85°, 90°, 95°, 100°, 110°) and females (95°, 100°, 110°, 115°). The majority of respondents were female (81.2%), ages between 20 and 39 (84.3%). The mean and standard deviation of ideal NLA choices in both male and female models were 97.1 ± 6.39 and 109.5 ± 5.32, respectively. The ideal male NLA choices were found to correlate significantly with age (P = .044) and work status (P = .019). In choosing the ideal female NLA, age was a significant factor (P = .012). Identifying the ideal NLA is essential to establishing aesthetic goals for patient and surgeon alike. It is important to understand the effects of demographics on the choice of the ideal NLA, which ultimately influences the planning and outcome of the rhinoplasty procedure.

Analysis of Factors Influencing the Development of China's Insurance Industry

The insurance industry is closely linked to individual interests and the overall economy of the country. Nowadays, in the context of Covid-9, the stable development of the insurance industry is particularly important. However, much of the literature focuses on the role of the insurance industry in economic development, but there are few studies that focus on the industry in general and analyze the impact factors of the insurance industry itself from multiple perspectives. To fill the academic gap in the overview of the insurance industry and better promote its future development, this paper explores the role of seven factors such as economic growth, inflation, disposable income of the population, and the scale of social security on the development of the insurance industry from three aspects: macro, micro, and China-specific social background conditions. Through a comprehensive analysis of relevant domestic and international literature in recent years, this paper concludes that: economic growth, higher individual disposable income and better legal system and regulation have a positive effect on the development of the insurance industry; inflation inhibits the insurance industry development. The effects of demographics, social security size and residents' education level on Chinas insurance industry are somewhat complicated.

Extreme events, trophic chain reactions, and shifts in phenotypic selection

Demographic consequences of rapid environmental change and extreme climatic events (ECEs) can cascade across trophic levels with evolutionary implications that have rarely been explored. Here, we show how an ECE in high Arctic Svalbard triggered a trophic chain reaction, directly or indirectly affecting the demography of both overwintering and migratory vertebrates, ultimately inducing a shift in density-dependent phenotypic selection in migratory geese. A record-breaking rain-on-snow event and ice-locked pastures led to reindeer mass starvation and a population crash, followed by a period of low mortality and population recovery. This caused lagged, long-lasting reductions in reindeer carrion numbers and resultant low abundances of Arctic foxes, a scavenger on reindeer and predator of migratory birds. The associated decrease in Arctic fox predation of goose offspring allowed for a rapid increase in barnacle goose densities. As expected according to r- and K-selection theory, the goose body condition (affecting reproduction and post-fledging survival) maximising Malthusian fitness increased with this shift in population density. Thus, the winter ECE acting on reindeer and their scavenger, the Arctic fox, indirectly selected for higher body condition in migratory geese. This high Arctic study provides rare empirical evidence of links between ECEs, community dynamics and evolution, with implications for our understanding of indirect eco-evolutionary impacts of global change.

The study on the residential radon concentration in the rooms in the areas of the Republic of Moldova

Natural radioactivity is still a topic addressed at the international level with multiple segments interspersed in the upward pace of technological and economic development at the local level. The intensity of concerns in the aspect of radioprotection starts from a series of factors that condition the level and doses of exposure of the population to sources of ionizing radiation, thus determining the medical, social, economic and demographic effects in the characteristic of a medico-social problem. Radon, through its contribution to the creation of the natural radioactive background, has a crucial role in the etiology of oncological diseases of broncho-pulmonary origin, leukemias and other pathologies. Long-term exposure to increased concentrations of radon and the association of other risk factors, such as tobacco consumption, causes the alteration of cellular metabolism processes, the damage of DNA and RNA nucleic acids, the formation of free radicals and the appearance of mutations that can constantly trigger lung cancer. The continuous monitoring of residential radon concentrations is a primary objective within the strategy to control and reduce the long-term negative effects of radon, being a main element of the action plan of the EURATOM Directive 59/2013.

A general framework for powerful confounder adjustment in omics association studies.

Genomic data are subject to various sources of confounding, such as demographic variables, biological heterogeneity, and batch effects. To identify genomic features associated with a variable of interest in the presence of confounders, the traditional approach involves fitting a confounder-adjusted regression model to each genomic feature, followed by multiplicity correction. This study shows that the traditional approach is suboptimal and proposes a new two-dimensional false discovery rate control framework (2DFDR+) that provides significant power improvement over the conventional method and applies to a wide range of settings. 2DFDR+ uses marginal independence test statistics as auxiliary information to filter out less promising features, and FDR control is performed based on conditional independence test statistics in the remaining features. 2DFDR+ provides (asymptotically) valid inference from samples in settings where the conditional distribution of the genomic variables given the covariate of interest and the confounders is arbitrary and completely unknown. Promising finite sample performance is demonstrated via extensive simulations and real data applications. R codes and vignettes are available at https://github.com/asmita112358/tdfdr.np.

EolPop, a R-shiny tool for quantifying the demographic impact of species exposed to fatalities: Application to bird collisions with wind turbines

Quantifying the demographic impact of anthropogenic fatalities on animal populations is a key component of wildlife conservation. However, such quantification remains rare in environmental impact assessments (EIA) of large-infrastructure projects, partly because of the complexity of implementing demographic models. Providing user-friendly demographic tools is thus an important step to fill this gap.We developed an application called EolPop to run demographic simulations and assess population-level impacts of fatalities. This tool, freely available online, is easy to use and requires minimal input data from the user. As an output, it provides an estimate, with associated uncertainty, of the relative deficit in population size at a given time horizon. Because this impact metric is relative to a baseline scenario without fatalities, it is robust to uncertainties.We showcase the tool using examples on two species that are affected by collisions with wind turbines: Lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) and Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis). After 30 years, the kestrel's population is expected to suffer a deficit of ca. 48%. In contrast, the impact on skylarks, which are already declining in France, is estimated to be fairly low (ca. 7%).EolPop aims at providing a robust quantification of the relative impact of fatalities. This tool was originally built for windfarm EIA, with a focus on birds, but it can be used to assess the demographic consequences of any type of fatalities on any species.

Effect of Personality Traits and Demographics on the Employment Status of Latin American Students

Personality traits have been highlighted as factors that affect workers’ behaviour, such as their performance or labour engagement. However, little is currently known about the personality differences between Latin American university students who perform self-employment activities, those who are dependent workers and those who are nonworkers. This research fills this knowledge gap by assessing the influence of the personality traits of 758 university students from Latin America on their employment status. In addition, the effect of gender and age cohort on students’ employment status is assessed. A logistic regression analysis is conducted using the personality traits of the Big Six model, gender and belonging to the millennial generation as independent variables has been conducted. The results support the significant effect of openness, conscientiousness and extraversion on students' employment status. Likewise, effects of gender and age are found. The results contribute to a better understanding of how individual conditions may affect the work activity of university students with regard to dependent employment, self-employment and work inactivity. In addition, the results can guide efforts to support entrepreneurship through the design of effective training programmes according to the students' personality traits and demographic characteristics.
 
 Received: 9 May 2023 / Accepted: 27 July 2023 / Published: 5 September 2023

Predictors of Escalation to Intensive Care Unit Level of Care Among Admissions for Alcohol Withdrawal.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.5 million people ages 12 and older had alcohol abuse disorder. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) can be defined as a collection of physical symptoms experienced due to abrupt cessation of alcohol after long-term dependence. In instances where regular inpatient management fails to control AWS symptoms, patients are shifted to intensive care units (ICUs) for closer monitoring and prevention of life-threatening complications like withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens (DTs), labeled as severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome (SAWS). Although this represents a significant healthcare burden, minimal studies have been conducted to determine objective predictors. In this study, we aim to determine the effect of patient demographics, socio-economic status, biochemical parameters, and clinical factors on the need for escalation to ICU level of care among admissions for AWS. Our study showed that factors such as a history of DTs or alcohol-related seizures, the initial protocol of management, degree of reported alcohol usage, activation of rapid response teams, mean corpuscular value, alcohol level on admission, highest Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Alcohol Revised (CIWA-Ar) scored during the hospital stay, and the total amount of sedatives used were significantly associated with escalation to ICU level of care. Clinicians must use these objective parameters to identify high-risk patients and intervene early. We encourage further studies to establish a scoring algorithm incorporating biochemical parameters to tailor management algorithms that might better suit high-risk patients.

The Effect Of School Size, Demographics, And Socioeconomic Status On Headgear Use In Girls Lacrosse

The Effect Of School Size, Demographics, And Socioeconomic Status On Headgear Use In Girls Lacrosse

Lesser Prairie-chicken incubation behavior and nest success most influenced by nest vegetation structure.

Incubation breaks are necessary for any nesting bird but can increase the mortality risk of the nest or attending parent. How intrinsic and extrinsic variables affect nest attentiveness-the proportion of time a female is on nest during incubation- and subsequent survival of the nest remains unclear for uniparental species. We related female nest attentiveness to nest survival and tested the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic variables on nest attentiveness by female Lesser Prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) using GPS locations of 87 females at 109 nest sites in 3 study areas in Kansas during 2013-2015. Daily nest survival increased by 39% when nest attentiveness increased from 21% to 98%. Female Lesser Prairie-chickens were 18% less attentive as body mass increased from 600 to 920 g. Daily precipitation and temperature, controlled for days into the incubation period, had interactive effects on nest attentiveness with nest attentiveness lowest on cool, wet days and increasing as temperature increased, regardless of precipitation (41% attentiveness at 16°C and 79 mm of precipitation to 90% attentiveness at 37°C and 41 mm of precipitation). Nest attentiveness increased by 11% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 78% when visual obstruction was at 1 and 2 decimeters (dm) and increased 9% as the quantity of grass at the nest site increased from 5% to 83% when visual obstruction was at its maximum (3 dm). Our findings reveal the critical importance of nest attentiveness and incubation behavior, not only in relation to demography, but within the context of changing environmental conditions. As warmer temperatures and extreme precipitation events become more common and change the growth rates of vegetation, species like the Lesser Prairie-chicken that are ground-nesting, rely on vegetation cover, and exhibit uniparental care could experience negative demographic consequences.